Distelli, founded in 2013, has developed software for managing containers, Kubernetes cloud clusters, continuous integration and continuous deployment. Its customers include Juniper Networks, DocuSign and usermind.

The usefulness of containers themselves is subject to some debate, depending on who you ask. Puppet's former CEO, Luke Kaines, told The Register in February 2016 that there was a "lot of hype" around "containers and schedulers" and a survey of their use early this month by Cloud Foundry reported low adoption.

In a statement, Mirchandani said: "Together with Distelli, we are bringing a comprehensive solution for orchestrating and automating the entire software delivery lifecycle, from infrastructure, all the way up through containers."

Distelli's products and its Seattle office are said to have survived the acquisition. ®